


Don't Wake Up

by nthDimension



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Agender Chara, Agender Frisk, Angst, But only a tasteful amount, Die in the game Die in real life, Fantasy Violence, Foreshadowing, Houseplant Flowey, Other, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route - "I want to stay with you.", oooooooooooooooo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-16
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-08-31 10:51:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8575489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nthDimension/pseuds/nthDimension
Summary: Have you ever woken up from a dream to find out that you're still dreaming? How about waking up into a dream that you can't escape from? No?I don't recommend it.





	1. Prologue: Decisions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Omoni](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omoni/gifts).



> Dedicated to Omoni, who made me laugh and cry and gave me somewhere to escape to for a few chapters when I needed it.

The infinite expanse of the Void would be considered by most a daunting and scary prospect. The void is a paradox; Infinitely black and yet no concept of white, infinitely large and yet not even real. There is nothing. No sound, no light, no space, no time. 

It stands to reason one would have to be mad in order to exist there, and many do (however paradoxically). The ones who had been forgotten by time itself. Those from all walks of life had ended up here, none following the exact same path but all sharing the same fate. Of the many who had been lost to the Void over an eternity, only two made themselves known to this corner of the multiverse; One of them a spectre, a faded image vaguely resembling a humanoid shape. The other, a monster that may have once been a skeleton before the Void claimed him like so many others.

The two beings silently stared downward, the Earth in all of its beauty sprawled out beneath them as if it had every right and then some to be there. It wasn't the earth, not truly. It was simply a projection, an image in the minds of the two beings that bled into the infinite expanse around them. They looked on in silence, patience only two beings who had lived for as long as they had could manage. After what could have been an eternity or just as easily a second, the spectre finally broke the silence with a question the skeleton felt he had heard a thousand times.

"You are sure this is what you want?"

And as every time, he asked himself the same question and came up with the same answer.

"I̷ ̨am̵ ͝c̷ertai̡ǹ"

The spectre shifted uneasily, still not convinced. "With this power, you could easily free yourself and see your childr-"

"Í ͡kn̢o҉w w̢h͜a͞t it̨ ͠i̡s ́ca͜pa͟b̡le ̕o̕f̛." The skeleton firmly cut them off. "T̢h̡a͝t̕ ̨i̸s̨ why̛ I͏ ̨am̧ ask͘i̵n̨g t̡his͜ of͟ y̷o̧u."

"Doctor, I simply do not want you to make a decision you will regret."

"O͡h̵, ͞I ͞k̴n͏o̴w ͠I͢ wil̴l ̨ḩa̶te m̡y̛s̶e͟lf ̀fo̸r ͞t͘hi̢s.̕ He countered, tilting his head back. "I͟ wi҉ll ̴s̴cream.̸ I͘ wi͢l̶l ҉c̷ry.͝ I̕ wìl̨l ҉be̛g fo̵r̵ deat̶h and c̡u͝r̛se̷ m͏ys͝e͏lf̶ f͟ơr͏ damn̡i̧n͢g̵ ̛m͟e̛ ͘t҉o͝ ̨t͢h̶i͏s f̵a̸te when͟ ̢I ͘co̶ưl̡d̴ ̨ju̢s̵t͘ as͜ ̧e͝as͠il͏y ̨ha̷v̴e lef͟t. But̸ I ͢wi̴l̛l̨ ̢not͠ re͢g҉r͝e̢t̡ i҉t.̀ N͜e̕ve͞r͏ ̛re͜ǵret.͘"

"...Very well then." The spectre shifted, glowing brightly as it passed its power to him. "You do know how it works, right? They will have to earn it. It is through their determination that the power to alter reality is achieved. That's determination with a lowercase 'd' by the way."

The Doctor squinted his good eye against the light, attempts to shield his face with his hands fruitless as it spilled through the holes in them. "Yȩs̷, I͞ ͜u̕n͟de͝r̀s͠tand̴."

"Good." As the transfer was completed the light died down, and with it the spectre themself. "Then I leave it to you. I am no longer needed here, nor do I suspect I will ever again. Goodbye Doctor Gaster." They said, the last wisps of their form finally dissipating. 

With them gone, Gaster willed himself downward, feeling the power he had been given thrumming in the shattered pieces of his soul. As he approached a familiar looking household, ideas began to spring into his head faster than he could rationalize them in order to use them. He stepped onto the porch and through the door, knowing no one would be able to see him as a maniacal grin spread across his face unbidden. All he had to do now was wait for them to fall asleep and his plan would come to fruition.

"Ṭ̮ͫ͌̈́̌h͍̟͕̄̒e̦̣ͮͤͨ̽̚ ̗̫͈̩̣̲̏͗͛̽̓̆̓͗̓g͈͈͉̋ͬ͛a̟͉̖̗̝̺͐ͪͯ̒̿̾̓̆m͍͕̬̃ͩ̓̐̃͆̑̓ḙ͖̰̳̮̋̾ͤ͒́̂̄ ͖̝̦͖͔͖̋̒̍̽̉̿i͎̤͎̣̞̬̱̝̇̂ṣ̜͈͒͋͆̇ ̰̺̩̖ͧͩ̽ͦâ̘͈̯̙̓̏̏͑f̖͚̬̎̊͒̈̊̍͋̄ͥo͔͕̦̟̭̮͓ͣ͌ͪ̆ͫ̋ͤǒ̮̘̮̪̭͉̫ͨͅẗ͈͎͖̯́̇ͯͪͫ. T͉͎͒͛ͯͯh̻̱̲̭̞̤͓͗ͬ̉̽ͪi̮̦͚͈̯͎͌̈̌ͅs̱̻̼̹̣̬͕ͥ̎̏͛̂͂̄ ͉̠̭͎̩͚̩͖ͪͤ̑̍͆̾ͯȯ̲̱͓ů̠̳̠̣͕̬̤̽̚g̤̲̿̽h͕̗̯̐̐t̤͙̯̥̳͖͇͖ͨ͗͑̌̍ͦͅ ̟̬̪̭̲̺̈͌ͮ͋̀͗ͥ͆̏t̪̪͔̗̭̺̲̂͐̐͒ͨ̉̑̚o̜̰͖̠͇͖̦̜ͩ͊̃ ̠͖̯̖̮̫̹̹̽ͪ̿̋̈̑b͈̫̻̟̠̪̏͒̉͐̅ͣ̇̅e̱̖̗̘̮̅ͦ͊́ ͍̜̇͗͒̇ͩ͋̚f̻̪̥̹͔͈͂ͫͣ̓̀͌̆͑u̩̣̗̥̳̔̽́͂n̬̗̻͕̭͚̮͋̂̍"


	2. A Rude Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smells like pancakes and lies

‘Sleep is a beautiful thing.’ They thought to themself with what little consciousness they possessed. ‘Nothing is better than sleeping in.’

“kid”

Yep, nothing quite like it.

“kid c’mon, you gotta wake up”

That sure is an awfully loud bird.

‘OH MY GOD WAKE UP OR I’M WAKING US UP BY FORCE’

As much as they wanted to sleep in, Frisk had neglected to account for two very important things. One being their incredibly awesome but sometimes annoying Dunkle Sans, the second being the migraine they shared a headspace with. Weighing their options, Frisk rolled back over with a dismissive grunt.

“frisk please, tori will have my skull if you’re late for school.”

*Alright that’s it, I’m done waiting. You’re getting up whether you like it or not.

Chara seized control of their shared body, flinching slightly as they always did at the sudden onslaught of tactile feelings. The blanket draped over their body, the coldness of the still morning air, they could feel it all. Strange how death makes things like that into a novelty.  
Sitting up slowly, their red eyes flitted open and met Sans’, the latter jumping slightly at the unexpected eye contact. The edges of their eyes were darkened with lack of sleep as they always were when Chara was in control.

“Hey there Smiley Trashbag”

Sans recovered remarkably quickly, slipping back into his trademark slouch. “heya. you look well rested. frisk not getting up?” He drawled.

“Not anytime this century apparently.” They confirmed, throwing the blankets off and rolling tiredly off of the bed, hitting the hardwood with a THUD softened by their ~~haphazardly thrown~~ strategically placed blankets. In the back of their mind Sans made no move to help, opting instead to look down at them with concern.

“hey, you alright?”

“Yeah,” Chara replied, struggling to find their balance on all fours. “It’s just been a few weeks. I need to borrow our body more often.” 

“their body.” Sans amended. He still didn’t like the way they were so possessive of Frisk. It was almost creepy.

“Whatever. Go tell Mom I’ll be down in a second.”

“sure” 

Reality seemed to bend around Sans as he walked out the door, a telltale sign that he had taken a shortcut downstairs. 

“Seriously? He couldn’t even be bothered to walk down one flight of steps?” Chara shook their head, freezing at an errant thought. “Wait, why is it even called a flight of stairs?”

’Mrglbrglgl’ Was the reply from Frisk.

“Helpful as always.”

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By the time Chara had finally figured out which pants leg was which for long enough to get dressed and ready for school their breakfast had gotten cold. Luckily, it wasn’t anything a little fire magic from the best monster goat mom in the world couldn’t fix (she was the only monster goat mom in the world, but that didn’t change anything.) The taste of syrupy pancakes was enough to coax Frisk out of their sleepy stupor, Chara slipping back into their subconscious to allow them control of their body.

“So,” Toriel called from the kitchen, “What does Mrs. Kristoff have for you today?”

“We’re gonna start a science project!” Frisk answered. “We’re gonna be growing bean sprouts and measuring how they grow with different kinds of fertilizer! Apparently it’s to test a hypo...hypoti…”

“hypothesis?” Sans suggested.

“Yeah that! We’re gonna test one of those. It’s kind of like a question, but more science-y! Monster Kid says he’s gonna grow the tallest one by using an energy drink as fertilizer, which makes sense I guess. “If it makes me hyper, it should do the same for the plant right? Then it can use all that energy to grow up!” At least that’s what he said. I’m gonna grow the tallest sprout though, Flowey said he’d help me!” 

“I said no such thing!” An angry voice shouted from the living room. “Stop saying lies you idiot!” Flowey had, as per usual, commandeered the TV remote and 

Once Frisk WAS awake, they were a ball of limitless energy in closed company. ‘shame they’re so shy around new people, everyone else on the planet is missing out.’ Sans thought to himself, quietly chuckling. Pausing for a beat, he cracked an impish grin that Toriel and Frisk were very well acquainted with. Both of them turned expectantly, Chara groaning at their inability to stop what was coming. Flowey tried his best to block out all of the sound by turning the TV up.

“hey frisk.”

 

“Yeah Sans?” They snickered, eliciting another groan from their mental partner.

‘Oh sweet embrace of death, please take me again. I’m sorry I left you.’

“i guess science really isn’t flowey’s style.”

Toriel and Frisk both busted out laughing, their laughter only increasing as an annoyed scream sounded from the staircase.

“SANS, SHOULDN’T YOU BE AT WORK?” Papyrus questioned, straightening his bowtie in anger towards his shorter counterpart. He was wearing what some people would probably call ‘Geeky dad’ attire, complete with khaki shorts, suspenders and the aforementioned bowtie.

“shouldn’t you be at work too?”

“I HAVE THE DAY OFF, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!” Papyrus countered. “I HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY HARD, AS THE STUDENTS WILL ATTEST TO! THEREFORE, I HAVE BEEN GIVEN A VACATION DAY WHICH I WILL USE TO THE UTMOST!” In his head, Papyrus pictured his hair flowing in the breeze. He didn’t have hair, nor was there a breeze, but he could dream.

“and whaddya got planned?”

“I WILL…” He faltered, not sure what to say next. “I DON’T KNOW, ACTUALLY. I’VE NEVER TAKEN A DAY OFF WORK.”

“i’m sure you’ll think of somethin. hey tori, you mind if i take a shower?” Sans squirted maple syrup into his mouth straight out of the bottle, his pancakes having magically disappeared. 

“Oh, it is fine Sans.” She answered, her back still to them all as she flipped another pancake. “Just do not use all of the hot water.”

“got it.” Reality buckled once again, and he was gone.

Papyrus groaned, stomping over to where Sans had been sitting and picking up the discarded syrup bottle in disgust. “I REALLY WISH HE’D ACTUALLY PUT IT ON HIS FOOD RATHER THAN DRINKING IT. NOW WE DON’T HAVE ANY FOR THE PANCAKES.” He lamented, tossing it over his shoulder into the trashcan. “...WAIT A SECOND,WHY ARE YOU MAKING MORE-”

“YO WHAT’S UP NERDS?!?”

Undyne literally kicked kicked the door open, a very bemused Alphys trailing behind her. “H-hey everyone.”

“UNDYNE! ALPHYS! IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU.”

“Yeah!” Undyne shouted at her usual volume, very quickly closing the distance between the two, wrapping her arm around his neck and giving him the noogie of a lifetime.

“I AM EXCITED TOO, BUT PLEASE STOP.” Papyrus pleaded, knowing full well how hopeless his situation was.

“No way, I haven’t seen you in forever!” Undyne showed no signs of stopping, but luckily Papyrus’ saviour was just around the corner.

“Darling, please, hands off of the merchandise. That is the second most marketable face in the household.” Mettaton rolled around the corner in his box form, the very idea of anyone touching Papyrus offensive to the highest degree in his eyes.

Undyne let go, grumbling something about where she planned to put her boot in the near future. She did, however, brighten up as soon as she saw Frisk in the kitchen. The two rooms weren’t separated by anything other than a change of flooring, so people tended to wander between them at will.

“Hey Frisk!” She shouted, Frisk running over to her despite Toriel’s scolding from the stovetop about running in the house. 

“Auntie Undyne! Guess what we’re doing at school today?” And they were off again, explaining their bean sprout project in detail. To Undyne’s credit, she had no idea what a hypothesis was but she was paying rapt attention all the same. Alphys interjected every now and again with scientific corrections, i.e. “No, energy drink would NOT make a good fertilizer.” Mettaton and Papyrus were busy discussing their plans for the day, as Mettaton had commandeered his day off for them to have a “DAY OUT THAT IS IN NO WAY A DATE OR ANYTHING.” If anyone had been looking, they wouldn’t have suspected anything other than an average day for the Dreemurr household. 

Mettaton flipped a lock of black, synthetic hair over his shoulder, beckoning to Papyrus. “Well darling, I think it would be best if we took our leave.” He reached for the doorknob, twisting the knob and throwing the door open

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Sans wouldn’t tell anyone, but he loved the shower. It was just something about the warm water running down his bones that made him feel warm and cozy inside. ‘not that i ever feel cold, the cold goes right through me. heheh, still got it.’ His thoughts had a tendency to wander in the shower, the one place where he could be alone with them for long enough. Honestly, Sans had to thank the sheer chaos that was living with this family. It kept him from thinking too hard about the existential crisis he had been putting off for the past two years. Four if you count resets, which he did. It almost felt like-

His train of thought crashed into the wall when he heard the screaming coming from downstairs. One of them was a rather flamboyantly over the top scream (3 guesses as to who’s it was) and the other sounded almost like a little girl. Not even pausing to think he warped to the living room to see what the commotion was, not bothering to put even a towel on. He was a skeleton, what were they gonna look at? 

The screaming was still running strong when he arrived, the screams belonging to the two monsters by the door. Mettaton was no surprise, but he wasn’t expecting the other voice to be Papyrus.

“bro, what the hell?”

Clamping his mouth shut, Papyrus slowly turned to meet his brother’s gaze. “SANS WHY ARE YOU NAKED?”

“not important. what i want to know is why are you screaming? and more importantly,” he held up the bar of soap he hadn’t bothered to put down, now thankful for it. “why didn’t you tell me you were a soap-rano?” Sans’ grin could not be more shit eating if he tried.

“SANS NORMALLY I WOULD SCOLD YOU, BUT NOW IS REALLY NOT THE TIME.” He sounded almost scared, his tone snapping Sans into his rarely used ‘serious-mode’.

“okay, what’s going on?”

“Yeah punk, what’s got you so screamy? Well, more screamy than usual.” Undyne asked from the spot she had claimed on the couch.

“...MAYBE YOU SHOULD COME LOOK.” Papyrus stepped out of the way, leaving a clear view of the door and the outside...or lack thereof.

“...paps.”

“YES SANS?”

“what happened to our front lawn...and the rest of the planet?”

“I WISH I COULD TELL YOU.” 

Everyone in the living room and the kitchen clustered in front of the doorway, trying to see what was outside. True to Sans’ word, there was nothing. No light, no lawn, no sky, nothing. It was as if the house had been plucked out of the universe.

“...Undyne, how did you, Alphys and Mettaton get here?” Toriel had to ask.

Undyne would have answered, except she didn’t have one. “I...really don’t know. I just kinda showed up? WHY AM I ONLY NOW QUESTIONING THIS?!?” She screamed, about to break a table.

"͠Tha͏t ̴ìs͢ ͡b̷e҉ca͞uśe y̛our ̧mind i̛s a ͜ve̸ry ͜u̢nint͏e̢l͠li̧g҉e͢nt ́t̨hing͟.̢" A new voice added, startling everyone in the room. Undyne’s reflexes inbuilt from years in the royal guard kicked in, and she launched a volley of spears in the direction of the voice.

“N͡oẃ now,̴ ̴is th͡a͘t̀ ͝a͏n͏y̛ w͡a͞y̶ ͞t̵o͜ t̢r̵eat ̛you͏r͡ şup̧e҉r͢io̸r̡?" And the spears were gone. Not even a sound, they simply ceased to be. In their place stood what might have once been described as a skeleton monster wearing flowing black robes, a lopsided smile plastered on its face. Sans visibly tensed, his ever present smile now strained with fear.

"Who the hell are you?" Undyne questioned with an accusatory stare.

Frisk felt like they had seen the man before, but they couldn’t quite remember clearly enough. 'Chara, do you know him?'

Silence.

'Chara, I'm scared. Now is NOT the time to be quiet.'

Before they could press Chara, the skeleton spoke to them in its distorted voice as the color seemed to bleed out of the house, leaving everything an infinite black.

"I a̸m̴ ̀Do͢cto͞r ͜W͡. D̨. G̡a̧st͜ȩr. Y͝o͞u must̢ h́ave m̢a͘ny̕ ́q͏u̢esti̢o͟n̕s̀."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my Tumblr for updates on this fic as well as other such memery  
> http://nthdimension.tumblr.com/  
> Leave a Kudo and a Comment, I won't bite


	3. Wait, what?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smells like TV static and emptiness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long and it's so short, I've been a bit busy with family matters.  
> Either way, I did it, and I'll hopefully be back to writing consistently.

“Damn straight I have some questions.” Undyne screamed loud enough to shake the table her right leg was resting on, the other planted firmly on the floor in anger. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but you better fix whatever you did. NOW.”

“"Al͘though y͘ou a̕re ͝c͡or͠r̡ect͘ i͘n yo҉ųr ̕as҉sųm̨p̨ti͞o͜n ̸th̡at̨ ͘this i͞s̵ ̵my f̴au͘lt,̕ y͝ou ͢are̶ ͠i̡n҉corŗec͡ţ ͘in ̡s̴a͢y͜i̶nǵ ̷t̷h̢at Ì am abl͝e ̀t̸o͠ ͘fix͜ it. ͏Tḩat w̶ill be҉ u̧p̡ ̵t͟o you.̸" The man stated simply, interlacing his fingers and placing them under his chin as if he were leaning on an invisible desk. "I ̶s͡i͜m̧p҉ly bro͏uǵht͠ ̴y̢ǫu h̢e͏re. Į ́co̸n͏tr̴o̸l͟ ̛y̶o̡ur j͢ou͞r͘n̕ey͏,͘ bưt ͘i͠t̀ i̛s̛ y͘oư ̵a͢ll̀ who̢ ́must̵ ̕m̴ak̷e̢ t͞h͡e͟ ͏fi͜r̸st ̀ste̕p."͟

“W-w-what do you m-mean, ‘our j-journey?’” Alphys commented, nervousness creeping into her voice even more than usual. 

At this point Fisk was wide awake, the appearance of the man in black startling them enough to shake the last dregs of sleep out of their system. They almost wanted to go back to sleep. Roll over and pretend this wasn’t happening. Maybe they still could, the path to the hallway wasn’t blocked, maybe-

*Focus Frisk, you know as well as I do that we can’t just run away from this. Something about this guy is really offputting.

‘Right, of course… I’m sorry, I just-’

*Apology accepted, now can you pay attention? I can’t hear what he’s saying if you’re not.

Grumbling a few half hearted complaints about Chara’s attitude Frisk returned their attention to the task at hand, adding a comment of their own. “Wait, missing the obvious question, but where is ‘here’ exactly?”

"Th̷e D̢r̨ea͘m͡s͠c̶ape ͠of cóur̡s͞e͝. ͠Y̡o̡u͜ h̕a̢d ̢reaļi̵z̴ed t̶hi̷s w̕as ̢a ͏dream, hàd͠n̡'t you͡?̛" The stranger said with a shit-eating grin they swore they recognized from somewhere. They would’ve put more thought into it but they were too busy focusing on what he had said. Luckily, Undyne was there to put what they were thinking into words.

“...Wait WHAT?” She shouted, looking incredibly confused. “What the FU-”

“UNDYNE” Papyrus cut in for the first time since the stranger’s appearance. “I’VE TOLD YOU A THOUSAND TIMES, NO SWEARING IN FRONT OF THE HUMAN!”

Undyne whipped around, generally pissed off at everything. “Pap, I really don’t think now is the time to be worrying about swear words. We are literally DREAMING!” She didn’t realize it, but she was slowly elevating in volume until she was just short of shouting in his face. “We are having the exact same dream at the exact same time. Do you know what that means?”

“...NO?”

“Me neither, but whatever it is, it can’t be good!” 

“Wait, hold on,” Frisk interjected. “How do we know all of us are dreaming? Who’s to say that I’m not the one dreaming and I’m just dreaming of you all right now?” Frisk half expected sans to comment on their question, but a quick glance showed that he had stopped entirely. He wasn’t moving, he wasn’t speaking, even the lights of his eyes had gone black. Frisk wanted to ask what was wrong, but Gaster answered their question before they could.

"͟V͜ęry thou̕ģh͡tf͟ul ̢ób̀s͡e͠rv̷át̨i͝on.” He noted. “Yo͜u a̢re͡ q͠uite brig͝h̴t ̨f̴o͜r ̡one ͝o̴f ̶y̶ou̶r ̷age͡.̵"

“Thank you?”

"I c̕an ̡co̶nf͡ir̶m͏,̛ h͠o͡w͟e͜v͡e͢r,̷ tha̡t́ t̷h͝i͟s ìs͠ a͢ shar͏e͡d҉ ̡ḑre͏a̴ḿs̵p̧a̧c̨e.҉ Al̛l̛ of̀ ͠you͟ ̧a̸r͡e ̴ha̕v̸iņg͜ t̡h͘e sam̕e͟ d́re͏a̵m̀ rig͞h̕t no͡w, a̢side̛ ̛f͘rom͢ ́t͡h̢e ͞g̸h̵ós҉t͢ a̸nd̴ ̀t͝h̛e̴ Q̧ue̷en͘.̸"́

Frisk looked behind them to where Mettaton was, and sure enough he was gone.

“WHAT DID YOU DO WITH METTATON?” Papyrus cried out in fear.

“Where’s my Mom?” Frisk added, their voice quavering.

"D͝o ̷n͢ot͝ ẃorr͘y҉.͝” The mysterious man chuckled at a joke only he knew. ̀"Th͢e ͡one c͏al̢l̡e̛d́ ͢M̷eţt̷a̢t͢on̸ ́i̛s̶ sa͠f͢e̕. He ͞w͏a̴s͘ n̡ȩver ͡in͠ t̴h͠įs̢ ͏dr҉e͢am ͠in͝ t͡h̕ȩ f͡irst place.̀ ͢I̵ sim̶p̵ly̢ ͢pl̵ace҉d͟ ͏him͝ ̵in ̛t̶he dream͟ to͞ ̢g̡iv͡e҉ t͜he ́i҉l҉l̨usion of r̸ȩal͢i̷tý u͞n͜t҉i҉l̡ I ̶w҉a͏s͢ f̢i͜n͜is̸he͝d̷, ͘a҉h, 'se̕t̸t͞i͏n͟g͟ th͘ings͝ ̸u̧p.҉' Thé ͘s̸a̵me is ͜t͞r̷ue͠ ̀f̵or͘ yo͢u͏r a̕do͏p͡t̶i̕ve̴ mot͜h̶er͜.͠"

“Setting what up exactly?” Undyne said pointedly.

"W͡hy,̷ th͜e͝ G͏̸͞͠A͟͞M̶̛̀͡͠Ę̶̸̧͘ of̴ cou͏rs҉e"̛

At this point, Frisk was only holding together out of curiosity. Had it not been for that they probably would have passed out right there, but that same voice in the back of their mind urged them to keep going, that little voice called DETERMINATION. Steeling their resolve, Frisk met the stranger’s eyes, trying not to focus on the right eye that seemed to be in a perpetual droop.

“I don’t know who you are, but we haven’t done anything wrong. We’ve been living here peacefully for almost a year and we don’t want any trouble. Please, show some mercy.” They couldn’t help the small waver in their voice as they spoke.

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Gaster’s expression turned sour, his features becoming less distinct as if someone had tuned the tv between two different channels. His anger almost seemed palpable, but just as soon as it had appeared his anger drained out of him, a look of resignation on his face.

"I͝ mu̧st҉ ąpol̷og҉is͠e ̡f̕or ̴my̨ ͢temper͡. ̢I̸t ̸ha̷s̷ be҉èn ̸a ͝lon̡g̀ ̨ti̛m͞e̛ s̢i͘n̸c͘é ͝I have ̸h́a̷d ͠to͏ ̡i͟nte͠r̷ac̶t ̕w͜it͢h̴ ot̢heŗs.҉ ̡Y̛ou̡ wo̵ưld do we͡ll ̡to ́w͞a͘tc͞h͜ yo̢ųr͞ t̶o҉n̡gue̵ yoųng͘ ̛on̸e." He continued before Frisk could comment, much to their annoyance. "I gr̨ow t͠i҉red of ͘'͝Playing ̨2̧0 ̸qu̧est҉i҉ons',҉ as yòu wo̧ųld̸ ͢s̡ay͟.͢ ̨It͠ is͠ time ̶f̷o̢r͜ t̵h̵e ̸g̵am͟e̡ t̢o ̵b̕egin."̢

“You still haven’t told us what game!” Undyne cried out in exasperation.

"O͢h, you͘ w̡il̛l̸ find͏ o̸u̶t͜ ͜s̸o̴on. ̷Fǫr̢ ̛n̵ow͞ th̢o̷ugh͜, it i̕s̀ ͜t̷im͢e͟ to ͠s̕e̷t͟ ̡the͘ ͡ęv̢ent̵s̸ ͠i̷n ̛motio̷n ͞t͜h̡a̷t wi̕l̶l͡ c̴han͝ge ͝y̢our͟ liv̧es ̀fo͝re͢v͘e͜r."  
Gaster began to rise into the air, the color bleeding out of everything in the room as his voice boomed through the house.

"̨̨I̶̸͜ ̵d̶̀͞ơ͠ ̡ho̸̵p̴̢e̴͞ ̸͢yo̧͞ù̴҉ ̢w̷í̧͟l͡l̵ ̵͜al̛l̶ ̕͜m͡a̵̛k̸ȩ͡ i̵t̡ ͘͡ǫ͡u̴͟͠t̡ ̧͏̶a͏̧́ĺ͏̡i̶̴v̸̴̀e͘҉̕.̵̢͏ ̢̀Y͏ơ͜u̡҉̢ ̵̶́o̸ņ͢l̷̡ý͟ ́g̨͏́e̸͘t̵̕҉ oǹe͢͠ ̵ţ̸ŕ͟y͝,͟ ̢̕a̷̴n̛d͏̢ ̵̧th̴͠a͏͜t̸̛ i̡͢͢s ҉i̶͜t̀.̶ ̢Gò̴̢ǫ͠d ͢b̀̕͜y͢͡e, ̡͡à͢n͝d̨͜ ́g͘o͘o̶̕d̛̛͡ ͠l̡͘͠ù̧͡c̨k̶̵͢"̴̵͞

And then there was nothing. No light, no sound, no ground, nothing. Frisk was scared. They screamed into the darkness as they fell for someone, anyone to help.

 

B̢̢̧̝͖̝͉͈̒̿̍͂ͤ̽ ̵̪̣͓̺̑ͧ̃̇̀Ü͔͎͔̙̭̾̈ͬͫ͆̚͟ ͓̱̜̙͍̲͔̃ͮ̆͜T̤̯̥̖͎͓̻̳̍ͤ̑̃ͬ̏ͯͨͬ ̷̷͖̿͐ͭ̀ͣ̓͘Ǹͤ̿̅̚҉͎̯͔̬̤͎̝̞ ̡̻̖̟͓͂ͧ͂ͭ̉O̔ͩ̑̐̈ͩ̄̏ͩ҉͚͍̱̜̼̬͡ ̧̮̤̞̞͇͕̯̎ͯͥ̑͊͟B̘̜͓̟͈̩̳͙̞̈̑ͧ́̄̎͟͝ ̾ͦ͌̃̏̀͏̬O̪̫̳̦̥̞ͥ͛͘͝ ̴͕͍̺̭̞̦̰͋ͥͧD̴̦̲̲͔̺̮̹̭̋̅̎̎͐̋ͣ͟ ̬͆̉̔̓̌ͬ͢ͅY̰̭̥̮̥̰͎̗̎̅̋͘ ͖̖̏C̻͓͈̗̬͚ͫ̈ͬ́͢ ̲̘͎̟̳̈́̀ͥ͆̾͐̂̀̿͟A̛͍͕̫̬̠̞͎͍ͫ̽̍ͫ̍͐̕͡ ̘̩̩͚̣͗ͨ͛̃́ͅM̵̼ͦͭ̓̈ͭ͝ ̺̲̖̱̱̹͎͑͊̆̌ͪ̒͒̓͞͝Ė̀҉͙̦̩͎̖̪͚ͅ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, it means a lot to me. Really.
> 
> Leave a comment and a Kudo (But only if you want to)


	4. Spoons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smells like cereal and hard time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really late. Like REEEEEEEEEALLY late. I was supposed to have this done forever ago, but things kinda happened BUT NOW I'M BACK AND EVERYTHING IS FINE *eye twitch*
> 
> BTW follow on Tumblr to get updates to this if you don't have an AO3 account
> 
> http://nthdimension.tumblr.com/

*Frisk, wake up!*

*This is all a bad dream*

*You have to stay DETERMINED*

Frisk sat bolt upright, gasping for air like they hadn’t breathed in centuries. As the initial panic started to drift away, the confused human took in their surroundings. It was difficult to see, but with some squinting they managed to make out the general area around them, and a chill came to rest on their spine. It looked like a jail cell, but a lonesome one in a room by itself, nothing like the ones Frisk had seen when Undyne had taken them to the police station to ‘Show this punk how a real officer kicks ***’.

*Wow, did you seriously censor your own memories? You are the literal definition of a good christian child. It makes me wanna barf.*

Frisk started, but as they recognized the voice their confusion quickly became elation. Never in their life had they been so happy to hear Chara’s voice. Up until now, they had still been getting over their...difficulties… but now they were an anchor, something familiar they could latch on to. 

“Oh thank dog you’re still here..Wherever here is anyways…” They trailed off, not entirely sure what to make of the situation.

*You thought you could get rid of me that easily? Fat chance. Also I think I have an idea of where we are.*

“You do?”

*Yes.* Their astral image (Frisk was 99% sure Chara made up the name for that to make it sound cooler.) appeared, a transparent projection of Chara that only the two of them would be able to see. Floating from corner to corner Chara examined every nook and cranny of the cell, making noncommittal sounds every so often while Frisk waited apprehensively, curiosity growing by the second. Finally, Chara snapped to attention and slowly turned to Frisk. *Just as I suspected. We’re in a jail cell.*

Frisk slammed their open palm to their forehead on reflex. “Yes, thank you detective Chara. That information will surely come in handy in the future.”

Chara crossed their figurative arms, raising an eyebrow. *I wasn’t finished. As I said, we’re in a jail cell. That means someone wants to keep us here for something. Considering recent events, I would have to assume it’s Wingding.*

“Who’s Wingding?”

Confused, Chara paused for a second before lighting up with understanding. Literally. Astral images can glow from emotion apparently. *Oh yeah, you wouldn’t know. Remember that guy from before? The one who put us here?*

“...Vaguely?” Frisk rubbed their head, the foggy memories thudding a dull drumbeat in their head. “I don’t know, everything’s kind of weird right now.”

*Well yeah. He was the royal scientist before Alphys. His full name is Dr. WingDing Gaster, and he’s the reason we’re stuck here in our own dreamscape.*

“Wait wait wait, we’re dreaming?”

*Seems like it. More importantly, it seems like we can’t wake up.*

“Have you tried?”

*Several times.* This wasn’t the first time Chara had needed to wake Frisk from a nightmare; they tended to get them whenever they were down. Nightmares of the other timelines. The ones where they hadn’t been so nice.

Shuddering off the memories, Chara dissolved back into Frisk’s subconscious. *See if you can open the door.* 

Frisk obliged, shifting their weight to the side to roll out of the cell bed. “Wait, how long have we been in a bed?”

*Try to take it in stride, these things will happen a lot. You gotta remember I get an outside view of your dreams, so I notice things you don’t.*

Frisk nodded in understanding, testing the ground with their feet as they weren’t very sure it was sturdy. Dreams are weird like that. Finding the floor to be sufficiently stable they slid off the side of the admittedly short bed, taking a second to keep their balance while they felt around in the darkness to make sure there wasn’t anything to trip over.

*Anyways, the mind is really weird in what it creates. It only ever makes the things that are important to you at that moment visible, the other things are just implied until they become necessary. The bed wasn’t there when you woke up, but as soon as it was important to you, it existed.*

“Okay, I guess?” Frisk was more confused than they had been before the explanation, but they pushed on. Jiggling the cell door, they found it to be sturdily locked, almost like it was another part of the cell. “That’s… not going to work, is it?”

*Of course it isn’t. Why would it ever be that easy.*

Determined to find a solution, Frisk sat down on the floor and began to think. HARD. No way out, nobody to hear them scream, just their own dreams.

*Ew, what are you doing, that floor is disgusting.*

“The floor isn’t real dummy.”

*Touché pussycat.”

“...Wait, the floor isn’t real.”

Chara wasn’t visible, but Frisk could still tell when they were rolling their eyes. *Yes, I can see that dumba-*

“No swearing in my head.” They cut Chara off before they could finish. “Tell me, why are we in a jail cell?”

*...Because we need to be kept here for some nefarious reason?*

“Why though? This is just a dream isn’t it? If Doctor Gasket-”

*Gaster…*

“...Doctor Gaster needed us to just stay here, then he could’ve put us in an infinite lake of jelly or something. You know, somewhere with no way out. But people escape jail cells all the time, there are a hundred bajillion movies about it! We’re in a jail cell because…” Frisk trailed off, waiting for Chara to get it. They did, Chara’s mental image lighting up with understanding.

*It’s because he wants us to escape… but why? And more importantly how?* 

“I can answer both of those!” Frisk shot to their feet, their head teeming with activity. “The why is simple. It’s a test.”

*A test.* Chara deadpanned.

“Well, more of a tutorial. You know how in video games you get put through stuff to teach you how to play the game?” Frisk steamrolled on, not even waiting for Chara to answer (much to their chagrin). “It’s like that. Gaster said this was a game right? So let’s finish this tutorial so we can play!” They finished triumphantly to the sound of no one clapping.

*That still doesn’t answer the ‘How’.* 

“That one is easy too. You remember when Sans showed us that movie about the guy stopping bullets and stuff with his mind?”

*The Matrix.* At this point Chara was getting tired of playing fill in the blank with everything Frisk was saying, but they seemed to be having fun with it. Who were they to stop them.

“That one, yeah. It’s just like that one part with the little girl with the spoon. ‘There is no spoon.’. This is all in my head, so if I just believe hard enough, it should work!”

*Waitwaitwait, hold on, let me get this straight. You’re basing our entire escape plan on some garbage anime plot of ‘Believing hard enough’?*

“S’bout right, yeah.”

A few beats passed before Chara actually answered. *Alright, just making sure we’re on the same page.* After all, they didn’t have a better idea.

Their little conversation over, Frisk turned away from the metal bars separating them from freedom and began to back towards them. 

*...Why are you doing that?*

“If I can’t see them, it makes it easier to believe they don’t exist!” They replied cheerfully. They could feel the bars getting closer… no, there aren’t any bars. Three more steps until they pass where there should totally be bars but there aren’t any at all… two steps… one step… zero steps… negative one steps- hold on a second.

*THAT ACTUALLY WORKED?* 

“Of course it did, I thought of the plan!” They grinned, their smile rivaling sans in wideness.

"̴Įnte͟ŕeştin̨g̵.̡"͡ A familiar voice echoed throughout the dreamscape, sending a chill up Frisk’s spine. ͜"You ̡so̧l͝ved͘ the͞ ̶p̡u̸zz͡le f̀ar ͘fas͞t̢e͘r ͡t͝han̕ ̵I̡ ͢h͏a̡d̛ ͡a̧ńt҉i͟c͘i̷p҉a̴ted̴. I̴ sup͠p̴o̸se͞ I̷'ll͘ h̶av̸e ͘to̴ keep y̧ou͢ ̨oc͞çupi҉e͏d͠ ̕u̶nt͝i̸l͡ ҉t̢he ͏o̶t͟hers f̕ini͢sḩ.͢"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment and a kudo (but only if I deserve it.)  
> Constructive criticism is MORE than welcome (please, I'm flying blind here, it's literally my first fic)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction ever, so don't be afraid to tear it apart in the comments. I have a lot of room to learn, so I won't take it personally


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